So Many Events… So Little Time

Has your work travel exploded? Call it a COVID rebound if you like or maybe just a return to something close to normal — but you can’t deny that in-person business has made a comeback this fall. Now, there are some folks who are road warriors, and there are some who are more suited to quietly working from their office, combing through their to-do lists and checking all the boxes. My natural disposition is of the later persuasion. Whenever I travel, I tend to show up at the airport way early; I double and triple check hotel reservations; I usually lose sleep the night before travel, the first night of any stay and then finally start feeling like my normal self by the third day of any given trip. But, I’m finding myself getting back in the groove. And since COVID upped everyone’s comfort level with working remotely, I’m finding myself a bit more comfortable when my office is the airport, the hotel room, the coffee shop — wherever affords me a few quiet minutes to write.

For a while there, we all wondered if the COVID quarantine with its forced uptick in Zoom meetings and remote business dealings would prove to everyone how much more we can get done remotely — and to a certain extent, it did. Yet while some people said the need for in-person travel would go away, it seems that our need for face-to-face interaction persists. There’s so much that can be conveyed only in person.

For the past 4 weeks, I’ve had a trip every week and each one has yielded some sort of opportunity. Plus, the relationships that I’ve had with folks over the phone and email have become so much more real and personal now that we’ve had time to talk in person.

My recent travels have taken me to the West Coast for the Metal Finishers Association of California events, to the East Coast for the National Association for Surface Finishing Palmetto Chapter Conference in Myrtle Beach and to several places in between.

In August, PF made a whistle-stop tour of Indiana for a couple of stories you’ll find within this issue:

• The latest installment of our Top Shops Insider column offers a look behind the scenes at Winona Powder Coating (Etna Green, Ind.), one of the leading industrial powder coating providers for the Midwest.
• You’ll also find a feature story on how Hoosier Coatings got its start as a small batch operation and has grown into a fully equipped, 40-square-foot facility in Nappanee, Ind. 

A recent tour of D&K Powder Coating (Mankato, Minn.) is the basis for a feature on how the operation has grown its business from the ground up and gleaned recent productivity and profitability increases through the adoption of a new ERP system from Steelhead Technologies (Brighton, Mich.). 

Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the number of educational and networking events this fall that have helped energize the industry. One great example is the recent Electroless Nickel Conference held in Indianapolis in October. Organized by industry alum Brad Durkin, Products Finishing and Gardner Business Media, the event exceeded attendance expectations and the energy at the conference was palpable. It was a welcome return for a conference that was last held about 10 years ago and provided an inspiring deep dive into the ways that the finishing industry is changing and evolving.

“This is the youngest group I’ve seen at one of these events,” said Bill Fields, owner of commodity distributor Nickelman, during the conference’s opening session. “The whole industry is changing and there’s a new vibrance.”

The event offered insights into all aspects of the EN industry, from material shortages and supply chain challenges to the benefits of the technology and opportunities presented by emerging applications and trends in manufacturing. The event painted a portrait of a technology with much to offer evolving markets such as automotive, communications and electronics. Douglas Hughes of MacDermid Enthone Industrial Solutions summed it up best in his talk on the “Rise of EV, Implication and Applications for Electroless Nickel” saying, “If you’re not pursuing these opportunities, start now. It’s better to get in early than to later be on the outside looking in.”

All of this is to say that tons of exciting things are happening. It’s easy to get caught up in the negativity of the world's 24-hour news cycle. And yes, while there are plenty of challenges, there are also brilliant people working to meet those challenges every day and contributing to advancing manufacturing as a whole. Stay positive, stay engaged, and may all of your travels be fruitful and inspiring. Godspeed.